I Oggle With My Little Eye

*Special thanks to Noor Saeed and Shiza Rizwan for their help with post name*

Pakistani men are, by and large, oafs! Okay fine there`s … well you get the point. You don`t? When was the last time you visited a Pakistani Bazar? And I mean Bazar not some high-end mall or super-store where you look at the price tag and ask the salesperson “sale kab lagegi?” and when finally the much-awaited “SALE” sign goes up, you rush inside all excited, only to ask : “Ye sale price hai?” But I digress, when was the last time you went to a Bazar in Pakistan:

So whats the usual scenario? You feel like Ashwariya Rai or atleast you would if the hundred or so men oggling you were emm, well what the heck who really wants to feel like Hindustan ki Bahu anyway. And ofcourse this does not in any way imply that the average paki woman is actually more than just that, average i.e. , nope in The Land of the Pure you do not have to be hot or semi-dressed to be oggled. In fact Paki women can never suffer from low self-esteem, since Bashir, Tariq AND Rasheed are all staring (and I use the term very loosely here) at you like you are the only woman for miles around. Ah if only they stopped there! Nope dear ole Basheer (and I mean literally pot-belly, bald-headed, 40- year old basheer with a wife and kids in tow) wants more!

So he`ll accidentally brush against you, or crash into you (of course accidentally) or if he can manage it grope or if its his lucky day…. The ironic part is that this is not a once-in-a-blue -moon thing, or even a once-in-every-visit thing, its so wide-spread and so common that women have actually resigned themselves to it, and do not even discuss it any more! Its as common as paan streaks and wall-chalking. Don`t believe me? Go ask the females in your house.

Seriously did they miss out on this when reading the word of God?:=“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.”

(Surah An-Nur: 30)

The Arabic word used is which means more than just “all they do”. It encompasses everything men do when they “check out” a woman, so basically the verse means that Allah (s.w.t) knows well <*shudder*> what they “fantasize”.Lets not even go down that lane, the fact that Playboy sold SEVEN MILLION copies at its peak is enough of an indicator for the intelligent.

And they justify it by “ey she was asking for it”. No she was not, not unless you are her knight in shining armor, or her majazi khuda dude (basically the hot guy she fell in love with, married and who pays her bills:-P). So unless you`re him we DO NOT wish to be X-Rayed or Gamma Rayed or whatever it is that your oh-so-k3wl glasses emit when you stand on the gali ka nukar thinking you are God`s gift to woman-kind, seriously you kinda look like this:

And all we want to do is this:

In a hadith, the Prophet (s.a.w) is reported as having said: “And the eyes commit zina (adultery). Their zina is gazing.”

The Bible seems to agree:

“With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed–an accursed brood!”-Peter 2:14

The Prophet (s.a.w) commanded Ali (r.a) : “Ali! Do not look once after another, for the first look is for you (since it happens accidentally) while the second is against you.”

Note to Dads: Do not smile indulgently at your sons when they talk about their latest “excursion in the field”. Please do not sigh and start reminiscing about your days saying “boys will be boys” or at least if you are going to do that, do not kill your daughter for the same in the name of some misplaced sense of “honor”. If you have not noticed qualities like honor, liberty and justice are kinda same across the board!

Note to women: Whenever you are harassed in the work place, study place or the market, know that at some point somewhere a woman failed in her duty as a mother. Do not repeat the same mistake. Teach your son (s) manners and do us all a favor.

Some useful information:

1. Sexual harassment is defined as “any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature…”

2. The National Assembly of Pakistan has unanimously passed a bill to provide for a higher punishment for sexual harassment increasing the punishment for the crime to up to three years inprison and a fine of up to Rs 500,000 from up to one year and unspecified fine already provided in the PPC for a vague ‘insult (to) the modesty of a woman’.

And Finally:“Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal.” – (Surah Ghafir <the believer>:19)

20 Comments to "I Oggle With My Little Eye"

Great article and so true , its horrible what we guys do in the name of “Just Having Fun” or “Time Pass” its so sad a practice that most of us men think as common Norm among our peers.
But one thing i would like to add to article is something i noticed when i moved to Karachi specially (No offence meant) is that even some women here have similar ogglin habits although the criterion of their “PREY” usually improves but women also want to have their fair share of “Eye Candy” in our society now a days

these men actually represent the minority of men in pakistan. these men and their mothers are equally to be blamed for this problem as they do not teach their sons t respect and be respected. these are the same 15 men that propose every woman in the university making women think that all men are perverts. . i blame the women equally as well who go out just to get masculine attention and try to get them interested in them or to get their phone numbers or sexual or other benefits from them. these men actually are looking for this particular catagory of women. thus this small group of men brings a bad name to all men, while this small community of women bring a lot of trouble to women moving outside the houses. and one more think it doesnt matter if the man is 40 year old fat guy or a 20 year old version of tom cruise. and it doesnt really matter if you look like aishuria rai or ‘masi phano’. from what is written above it seems that the author does enjoy the attention she gets from young handsome men and that is wrong as well. when it comes to morality looks dont matter character do. and thus it is not a problem of looks and genders but a problem of morality and character. and thus should be dealt in a similar fashion

Okay, so I’ve had a slightly different experience(actually totally opposite). I don’t really go to bazaars but I remember going there once and the women there didn’t care at all that it’s a man and they would just brush against me as if it’s nothing. It was me who had to get out of there path. This really made me sick. 😐
But the article, I know it’s totally true as well.

Assalamu Alaikum Yo’s! I’d like to emphasize over one already discussed point over here that men play in their defense that is ‘she had it coming to herself’…if not noticed, the ayah that asks women ‘to cover themselves’ was placed after the ‘lower your gaze’ for men ayah, in the same Surah. SO there you have it. It should be an In-your-face reply to such rebuttals. 😛 And no, I am not a Muslim feminist. But Islam believes in justice 😀

I’d like you to commend for this. Amazing post! Simply the tone in which I’d like to hear this issue. Lightly put but impacting. Enjoyed every bit especially the ‘What-ever rayed’ part. Loved the take-home message. Keep up the good work!

ah so apt, it hit the mark! i was ranting about this on fb a couple of days ago myself, what it all boils down to is: our society’s acceptance that Xraying a woman is fine and that it’s ALWAYS her fault for wearing whatever it is that she chooses to wear (or maybe not, for that matter). fact is irrespective of what the woman looks like or how she’s dressed, if you’re a guy please don’t check her out, it’s WRONG, not only in religion but also as a social practice!!! it’s WRONG. PERIOD. *super angry*